24.03.2015 - 12:09
An Airbus A320, travelling from Barcelona to Dusseldorf has crashed in southern France. The plane operated by Germanwings (a subsidiary of Lufthansa) came down in the French Alps near Barcelonette, about 100 km north of Nice. The conditions of the accident have not yet been clarified, French President Francois Hollande said. There were 144 passengers, including two babies, and six crew on board. There are believed to be 67 German nationals on board. No one is expected to have survived, Hollande said.
The flight reached its cruising altitude of 38,000ft at 10.45am, 44 minutes into the flight. Just a minute or two later, it began an unexplained descent, which lasted eight minutes: contact was lost at 10.53am, when the plane was at 6,000ft. The airline does not know why the descent was initiated and is not sure whether a distress call was issued. The company spokesman said that it had conflicting information about the issue from air traffic controllers. French aviation sources have also given contradictory information on this point.
